RFI Application Processing System

The Department of State Office of Acquisition Management is posting a Request for Information from the Bureau of Consular Affairs on a draft Statement of Work for an Application Processing System, with responses due November 20, 2026. The notice uses no set-aside, is for market research only and is not a solicitation, and the Government will not reimburse response costs. The draft requirement covers front-end processing and fee collection for paper-based passport applications across the continental United States. Work includes receiving, sorting, opening, scanning, data capture, validation, batching, and dispatch within 24 hours of receipt, with check and money order fees deposited to Treasury accounts the same day. Volume ranges from approximately 14.9 million to 23.2 million applications annually. The anticipated contract type is firm-fixed-price, with a one-year base period and nine one-year options (ten years total) through 2037. The contractor assumes volume risk within a 20 percent capacity buffer above monthly forecasts, and surge pricing applies only when actual volumes exceed that buffer.

Requirements include 24/7 operations with 100 percent redundant capacity across at least two domestic facilities, all-U.S. citizen personnel with completed background investigations, SOC 1 Type 2 audit compliance for fee processing, compliance with 31 CFR Part 202 and Treasury regulations, and integration with government systems and potential FedRAMP environments. Courier services require GPS tracking and liability for lost or damaged materials, including credit monitoring for PII exposure. Specialized workstreams include special issuance processing (approximately 195,000 applications annually for federal government agencies), vital records services (approximately 30,000 DS-5542 applications annually), authentications processing (approximately 70,000 applications annually), and passport revocation services (up to 50,000 annually, with potential to scale 3-5 times within 60 days).

Responses should include capabilities statements and answers to the ten questions in the attached RFI, sent to Contracting Officers Alicia Hofhine (HofhineAK@state.gov) and Toshia Jackson (JacksonTV@state.gov).